Pope Gregory VII

Pope Gregory VII (1020-25 May 1085), born Ildebrando Bonizi da Soana, was the Pope and the leader of the Papal States from 1073 until his 1085 death. Pope Gregory VIII was a man of low command, piety, and authority, with no signs of chivalry.

Biography
Hildebrand of Sovana/Ildebrando da Soana/Ildebrando Bonizi was born in the frazione of Sovana in Sorano in the Holy Roman Empire-controlled Province of Grosseto. Da Soana was of humble origins from the Bonizi family, and he was the son of a blacksmith. As a youth he was sent to study in Rome and he eventually became an ordained priest, and then a Cardinal, and in 1058 he led the suppression of Pope Benedict X's rebellion at Galeria. After serving as Archdeacon for years, he became the new Pope in 1073 after the death of Pope Alexander II.

Pope Gregory VII, as he chose to be called, was made Pope in a period of tension between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Papal States. He reigned during the Investiture Controversy with Henry IV of Germany, which he solved by excommunicating him twice. He also made alliances with the Kingdom of Sicily, Kingdom of Castile, Duchy of Milan, and Republic of Venice. He oversaw a series of campaigns against the Republica Firenza and other rebels, as well as the Orthodoxes and Muslims.